Wednesday, December 06, 2006

C'Ville: A Small Step Forward

CARPENTERSVILLE -- The village board continued its efforts to keep the federal government accountable Tuesday night as it approved another immigration-related resolution to be sent to legislators.

At the heels of approving a resolution two weeks ago that asks the government to immediately take actions to "effect comprehensive, meaningful and practical immigration reform and law enforcement," the board approved a measure that would request federal funding for Section 287(g) training and that it be made available to the village's police department.

The training initiative is designed to multiply the forces of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, and enhance cooperation and communication with state and local law enforcement.

ICE is working with 30 agencies in the United States to design training courses that focus on immigration law, civil rights, intercultural relations and racial profiling. After completing the courses, officers become accredited and receive special authorities regarding immigration violators and access to ICE resources, such as a database that contains information on 100 million aliens. *snip*

The resolution passed overwhelming with only Trustee Linda Ramirez-Sliwinski voting against it. She called the training "just more racism" and said that, according to her numbers, three of the seven gangs in the village were Latino gangs (the issue isn't 'Latino' gangs, ma'am, it's illegal alien gangs - ed.).

"That is not a majority of the problem, that is a minority" she said. "Where is crime running rampant?"

Village President Bill Sarto referred to the program as a "gimmick," although he later voted for the resolution because he said he would if Police Chief David Neumann thought the training would be beneficial for the village.

Each baby step taken, by each village, town, city state is a step nearer to getting this problem under control.